Visual search in the context of computing devices or computers refers to techniques that enable a computer or other device to provide identifying information for objects in one or more images. Recent interest in visual search has resulted in algorithms that enable computers to identify partially occluded objects and/or features in a wide variety of changing image conditions, including changes in noise and illumination. During this same time, mobile devices that include cameras have emerged, but such mobile devices may have limited user interfaces for entering text or otherwise interfacing with the mobile devices. Developers of mobile devices and mobile device applications have sought to utilize the camera of the mobile device to enhance user interactions with the mobile device.
To illustrate one enhancement, a user of a mobile device may use a camera of the mobile device to capture an image of a given product while shopping at a store. The mobile device may then initiate a visual search algorithm within a set of archived feature descriptors for various images to identify the product based on matching imagery. After identifying the object, the mobile device may then present Augmented Reality (AR) information, and/or present a related non-Augmented reality application. For example, the mobile device can initiate an Internet-based search and present a webpage that contains information about an identified store product.